These Leftover Fried Mashed Potatoes are quick, easy and already perfectly seasoned since you are making fried potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes you already have on hand.

Leftover Fried Mashed Potatoes

Name: Leftover Fried Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes, room temperature; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 1/3 cup crumbled cooked bacon pieces; 1/4 cup diced onion or scallions; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon dried parsley or 2 teaspoons fresh parsley; 1 tablespoon oil for frying; 1 tablespoon butter for frying; sour cream for serving

When it comes to recipes using leftover mashed potatoes, these Leftover Fried Mashed Potatoes are my favorite!! I mean c’mon, don’t those just sound easy?? .. and delicious? .. and happy?

Are you like me and have those nights when you just don’t want to figure out what to make for dinner? Not the “chicken or fish” night…. I mean the night when putting together a successful bowl of cereal would be a challenge.

Yup… THAT night!!!

Well, I found the perfect Go To for those nights when you have been running around all day and you are tired and the clothes washer broke (on Full and with clothes in it) and the dog ate your favorite shoes and the kids … hey, where ARE the kids? …

These are not pretty and they are not fancy but oh my goodness… they are good!!! I confess that I am a fan of the pretty food. These leftover mashed potato cakes are not it. But they are fast to bring together … 5 minutes kinds of fast!! … and they are comforting after a long ~~crappy~~ day.

What are Leftover Potato Pancakes?

What is the one thing we always have leftover when it comes to family holiday dinners? Mashed potatoes! Everybody loves mashed potatoes so we automatically make too much. Then the next day we have a tub of leftover mashed potatoes in our fridge and let’s be honest, you can only reheat and re-eat them so many times.

And when it comes to ‘potato pancakes’, I think most of us immediately think of latkes, potato pancakes made with shredded potatoes. These are the same idea, just instead of shredded potatoes, these latkes are make using leftover mashed potatoes instead.

This potato pancake recipe is an easy and super tasty way to use up those leftover mashed potatoes. You’ve already done the hard work of making the perfect dish of mashed potatoes, now let them do the work for you!

Loaded Potato Cakes

When I wrote this recipe, it was the day after Thanksgiving and me and my hubby were just looking for our starchy carb fix. I had made a big pan of my Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole and there were still some leftovers so what better way to use them than to make this fried mashed potato cake recipe?

How to Use Leftover Mashed Potatoes

When it comes to repurposing leftover potatoes, this is the perfect easy recipe. Originally, my mashed potatoes already had the good stuff in them.. bacon and cheese, oh my!!!

This recipe was re-wrote to include all of the good stuff in case your mashed potatoes don’t automatically come with all the extras but feel free to substitute with ingredients your family will enjoy most.

How to Make Fried Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Start with about 3 cups of room temperature leftover mashed potatoes. You can either let your refrigerated potatoes sit on the counter for 30 minutes or lightly reheat them in your microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the cheese, bacon, onions, eggs, parsley, seasonings and flour. Mix well so that everything is completely incorporated.

Using your hands, form into small pancake discs… you should be able to make approximately 12 of them.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil and butter.

Fry your pancakes in batches for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Don’t crowd your pan and lightly flatten your potato cake with the back of your spatula.

Remove your potato cakes from your skillet and deposit on a plate covered in a paper towel.

Serve immediately and enjoy with a dollop of sour cream!

Pro Tips for Perfect Fried Mashed Potato Cakes

My original recipe was written using my Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole so it had all the extras already added to the potatoes. Feel free to use that recipe as your base or mix in whatever extras your family will like best.
Make sure you are not starting with cold potatoes. Bring your ‘tators to room temperature before adding the extra ingredients.
These little fried mashed potato cakes are a bit wet.. that’ ok! Just use the back of your spatula to flatten them, if needed.
I love using the store bought convenience of pre-cooked bacon, especially in a fast recipe like this. They can usually be found in the ‘salad dressing’ aisle of your grocery store or if you have leftover bacon, feel free to chop that up an add in instead.
Looking for more easy recipes that won’t break the bank? Don’t forget to check out my Broke Until Payday ebook where I share 30 original recipes celebrating easy recipes with bold, restaurant-quality flavors while trying to be budget friendly to help save you money! Grab yours today HERE!

More Easy Potato Recipes

Enjoy!